Farmer ends life

A farmer, Gupte Rana (55), of  Sudunga village under Maneswar block, allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide after having failed to repay his loans. He succumbed at VSS Medical College and Hospital at Burla on July 14.

The incident came to light after a delegation of Sambalpur Zilla Krushak Surakhya Sangathan visited the village on Thursday.

The delegation stated that Gupte was a landless peasant and supported his family by taking land on lease. He had taken three acres on lease and back-to-back crop loss had landed him in a debt trap.

He had even failed to clear the promised money to the land owner during last rabi.

Since Gupte had taken huge private loans, people made a beeline for his house demanding their money back with interest.

Humiliated and embarrassed, Gupte took the extreme step on July 10 after a tiff with his wife over the issue.

He was rushed to district headquarters hospital and later shifted to VSS Medical, where he died.

Although police have registered a case of unnatural death, they attributed it to family discord. The family members, however, said loan burden forced Gupte to take his life.

Meanwhile, the district administration has begun a probe.

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